Anthony was born at Cerreto, near Genoa, in 1812. He spent years in a parish and then became the bishop of Bobbio in 1838. During his years as a bishop, he founded a congregation of missionaries and a congregation of teaching sisters.

These three men said no more to Job, because he was convinced of his innocence. But another man was infuriated – Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the clan of Ram. He fumed with rage against Job for thinking that he was right and God was wrong; and he was equally angry with the three friends for giving up the argument and thus admitting that God could be unjust. While they were speaking, Elihu had held himself back, because they were older than he was; but when he saw that the three men had not another word to say in answer, his anger burst out. Thus Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite spoke next. He said:

I am still young,

and you are old,

so I was shy, afraid,

to tell you what I know.

Now, Job, be kind enough to listen to my words,

and attend to all I have to say.

Now as I open my mouth,

and my tongue shapes words against my palate,

my heart shall utter sayings full of wisdom,

and my lips speak the honest truth.

Refute me, if you can.

Prepare your ground to oppose me.

See, I am your fellow man, not a god;

like you, I was fashioned out of clay.

God’s breath it was that made me,

the breathing of Shaddai that gave me life.

Thus, no fear of me need disturb you,

my hand will not lie heavy over you.

How could you say in my hearing –

for the sound of your words did not escape me –

‘I am clean, and sinless,

I am pure, free of all fault.

Yet he is inventing grievances against me,

and imagining me his enemy.

He puts me in the stocks,

he watches my every step’?

In saying so, I tell you, you are wrong:

God does not fit man’s measure.

Why do you rail at him

for not replying to you, word for word?

God speaks first in one way,

and then in another, but no one notices.

He speaks by dreams, and visions that come in the night,

when slumber comes on mankind,

and men are all asleep in bed.

Then it is he whispers in the ear of man,

or may frighten him with fearful sights,

to turn him away from evil-doing,

and make an end of his pride;

to save his soul from the pit

and his life from the pathway to Sheol.

With suffering, too, he corrects man on his sick-bed,

when his bones keep trembling with palsy;

when his whole self is revolted by food,

and his appetite spurns dainties;

when his flesh rots as you watch it,

and his bare bones begin to show;

when his soul is drawing near to the pit,

and his life to the dwelling of the dead.

Responsory

How rich are the depths of God, how deep his wisdom and knowledge, how inscrutable are his judgements!

Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor? How inscrutable are his judgements!

Reading

The Moral Reflections on Job by Pope St Gregory the Great

Sound teaching avoids pride

Now, Job, listen to my words, and attend to all I have to say. It is characteristic of the way that arrogant people teach, that they do not know how to convey their knowledge humbly and cannot express straightforward truths straightforwardly. When they teach, it is clear from their words that they are placing themselves on a pinnacle and looking down on their pupils somewhere in the depths –

pupils unworthy to be informed and scarcely even worth the bother of dominating.

The Lord rightly admonished such people through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel, saying You have ruled your flock cruelly and with violence. For they rule with cruelty and violence when they do not try to correct those under them with rational arguments but try to dominate them and crush them.

On the other hand, sound teaching is eager to avoid this sin of pride manifested in thought: just as eager as it is to attack with words the teacher of pride himself. Sound teaching does not promote him by imitating his arrogance but uses pious words to attack him in its hearers’ hearts. Instead it promotes humility, the mother and teacher of all virtues. It preaches humility in words and manifests humility in its actions.

It commends humility to its pupils more by conduct than by speech.

This is why Paul seems to have forgotten his exalted status as an apostle when writing to the Thessalonians: We were babes among you. So also Peter: Always have your answer ready for people who ask the reason for the hope you all have, adding, to emphasize that the teaching must be presented in the proper way,

But give it with respect and with a clear conscience.

When Paul says to Timothy Command these things and teach them with all authority, he is not calling for a domination born of power but an authority that comes from a way of life. “Teaching with authority” here means living something first before preaching it; for when speech is impeded by conscience, the hearer will find it harder to trust what is being taught. So Paul is not commending the power of proud and exalted words, but the trustworthiness that comes from good behaviour. This, indeed, is why it is said of the Lord, Unlike the scribes and pharisees, he taught them with authority. He alone spoke with unique authority because he had never, through weakness, done evil. What he had from the power of his divinity,

he taught to us through the innocence of his humanity.

Responsory

All wrap yourselves in humility to be servants of each other, because God refuses the proud and will always

favor the humble.

Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls,